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And while the purpose of Nature Photography Day is to encourage Americans to enjoy their surroundings by photographing them, the location needn’t be exotic. “A backyard, park or other place close by can be just right,” says NANPA.

Today, in honor of the tenth annual Nature Photography Day, we present five past winners of the Palm Beach Post’s “Focus on Nature” contest.

As you can see, these Palm Beach County photographers captured incredible moments by putting down their phones and picking up their cameras (and, in some cases, additional equipment):

Fish-eye view of a sea turtle (Photo by Paula Zabik)

Paula Zabik of Royal Palm Beach took top honors in the 2009 “Focus on Nature” contest with this image of a hawksbill turtle, captured with a fish-eye lens on a Nikon Coolpix point-and-shoot in an underwater housing with dual strobes.

“The photo was taken on the wreck of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Duane off of Key Largo,” Zabik said in 2009.

“The turtle was resting in the crow’s nest, and I positioned myself against the rail and shot a series of photos, ending with the turtle leaning forward to taste my dome port.”

“It was my first time there, and I had walked around for about two hours taking pictures when I came across a pond with one waterlily in it,” said the Lake Worth resident, who used a Canon EOS Rebel XT.

“I took several pictures of the flower. Then, the dragonfly came along. I had been trying to get a few pictures of butterflies earlier, so I had my camera set to ‘action shot.’ I was lucky enough to get a shot or two of him on the flower before he was off again.

Baker’s tip for newbie nature photogs? “Take 100 pictures and you might get two or three that are good. Be a little obsessive.”

The jaws of death (Photo by Steven Scherer)

Steven Scherer’s photo was the Grand Prize winner in 2012.

Shooting with a Nikon D300 and Nikon 70-300mm lens, he captured this scene at Grassy Waters Preserve in West Palm Beach.

“There were three baby gators right by the dock, then I saw an adult floating toward them,” said the West Palm Beach resident. “The adult grabbed a baby, went under water and I started shooting. Suddenly it came up and this was one of the images. Like many things it was just being at the right place at the right time.”

The 2014 Grand Prize went to Jupiter’s Elaine Kruer for this showdown between a thorn bug and an ant.

“While standing on top of a tall ladder to photograph bumble bees visiting my yellow poinciana tree blossoms, I spied this beady-eyed, oddly adorable thorn bug, sporting an outlandish hoody,” Kruer explained. “A few days later she had laid eggs and was intently guarding them.

“This maternal care extends to remaining with, and watching over, her hatched offspring not only until they reach adulthood, but for an additional 15 to 20 days thereafter.

“Here, she vigilantly protects them from an uninvited guest, who is simply looking to feast off the honeydew she produces.”

Bringing up baby (Photo by Randy Hough)

In 2013, Randy Hough’s shot of a mother bird and her baby bested more than 1,400 entries to earn grand prize honors.

The Jupiter resident made this photo at Green Cay Nature Center in Delray Beach, where he and his daughter went for a morning photo shoot.

“Veronica spotted the small hole in the palm tree and saw a chick moving in and out,” Hough said. “We set up and waited to see if the mother would return.

“When she flew in, I started shooting my camera on continuous high, and I was able to get the shot of her bringing the food to her baby.”